
Earliest signs of Parkinson’s in brain
Why is it in news?
- Recently, scientists said they had found the earliest signs of Parkinson’s disease in the brain years before patients showed any symptoms.
- This discovery could eventually lead to better screening for at-risk people.
More in news
- A-Synuclein protein:(1) The disease is diagnosed by a build-up in the brain of a specific protein, a-synuclein, the cause of which is unclear.(2) However some people are born with a genetic mutation that makes them almost certain to develop the disease at some stage in their life.
- Experiment: Researchers from King’s College London compared data from 14 individuals carrying the mutation with that of 65 non-genetic Parkinson’s patients and 25 healthy volunteers.
- Identification with serotonin system: They found that changes in the serotonin system in the brains of Parkinson’s sufferers started to malfunction well before other symptoms occurred.
Source
The Hindu